1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a haymaking machine, particularly a mower of plant matter which can be hitched to a tractor and comprises a frame bearing a cutting mechanism with which may be associated a conditioning mechanism and a grouping device allowing the plant matter cut in two passes to be grouped together into a double windrow or a single windrow to be formed, which grouping device is made up of a first member for moving the plant matter toward the rear side of the machine and a second member for moving the plant matter toward a side of the machine.
A grouping device of this kind makes it possible for the first moving member to be positioned very close to the cutting mechanism or to the conditioning mechanism. It thus receives all of the forage coming from these mechanisms. That avoids any loss of forage between the mechanisms and said moving member.
2. Discussion of the Background
In a known machine, the first and second moving members form an entity carried by arms which are articulated to the frame.
To form a single windrow, the two moving members are tilted backward and upward so that the forage drops directly onto the ground as it leaves the conditioning mechanism. In this position, the two moving members which extend quite a long way backward and upward are very bulky. They therefore impede the driver""s rear view. They also give rise to premature wear of the entity and may even unbalance the machine when it is working on extremely uneven ground.
It is an object of the present invention to propose a machine as described in the introduction, with a grouping device that is simple and does not have the aforementioned drawbacks.
To this end, one important feature of the invention consists in the fact that the second moving member of the grouping device is mounted on a support so that it can be brought closer to or moved away from the first moving member for forming a double windrow or a single windrow. In this case, the first member remains in place and constantly moves the forage backward. To form a single windrow, the forage drops onto the ground between the two moving members. The movement of the second member alone is fairly simple. It is advantageously articulated to its support by means of a substantially horizontal axis. The latter advantageously lies to the rear of the second moving member. This arrangement makes it possible, simply by pivoting the second moving member about said axis of articulation, to obtain the space needed for the forage to pass toward the ground to form a single windrow. Said pivoting may be performed by means of a hydraulic ram.
According to another feature of the invention, folding deflectors are arranged under the second moving member. These deflectors are directed downward when the second moving member is moved away. They then guide the forage toward the ground and prevent it from becoming dispersed. Furthermore, these deflectors are folded upward into a substantially horizontal position when the second moving member is brought closer to the first moving member. This position may also be adopted for transport. These folded deflectors are thus away from the ground and do not carry the risk of remaining caught on any obstacles there might be.
According to another feature of the invention, the second moving member consists of a conveyor belt running over rollers. At least one of these rollers is mounted on a bearing piece which is connected to a pivot operated by a spring. The latter produces traction on said pivot so that it pushes the roller outward to constantly tension the conveyor belt in an optimum fashion.
According to another feature of the invention, one roller of the conveyor belt is driven in rotation by means of a hydraulic motor which is connected to a pump by means of pipes and which is controlled using a hydraulic directional-control valve. Actuation of the latter is advantageously combined with control of the hydraulic ram which causes the second moving member to pivot about its axis of articulation. The connection between the pump and the hydraulic motor is then automatically cut when said hydraulic ram causes the second moving member to pivot into the position in which it is away from the first moving member. Conversely, said connection is automatically reestablished when the hydraulic ram causes the second moving member to pivot into the position in which it is close to the first moving member.